Good showing from junior chess team at CARIFTA

The 2019 Bahamas Junior National Chess team performed valiantly at the 8th CARIFTA Junior Chess Championships April 18-23, in Curacao. Although several team members missed out on securing medals at the championships, team members gained invaluable experience.

For all but one of the team members, the Junior Chess CARIFTA Championships was their first international performance. The team represented the country admirably in both results and as ambassadors of The Bahamas.

The five-person team competed against 184 other players from 11 regional countries.

Over a period of five days, each team member played two rounds a day against some of the best junior chess players in the region. Games lasted up to three to five hours with a break between sessions for lunch, team training and post-game analysis.

After five days of intense competition, the dust settled and The Bahamas finished tied for 7th place.

The Bahamas sent only five players to compete while most of the other countries sent an average of 10 players. Countries such as Suriname, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Curacao sent over 20 competitors to the championships.

“Our country has a long way to go to catch up to the heavily supported federations of our regional allies, but we are making great progress,” explained Elton Joseph, president of the Bahamas Chess Federation and CARIFTA team coach.

He continued: “We hope to use the critical and consequential thinking along with other benefits like better decision making, planning and leadership skills to continue to develop our young persons in The Bahamas while competing fiercely for regional dominance in chess.

“We would like to thank the Mednet Group of Companies for sponsoring our trip. I would also like to commend the hardworking parents who contributed to the success of the trip.”

Congratulations to the team on their effort and continue to look forward to next year.